Sha Na Na at Sellersville Sunday

There is little left on Sha Na Na’s bucket list. The band, which has melded rock n’ roll and doo-wop for the last 44 years, played Woodstock, were featured in the film “Grease,” hosted a popular syndicated television series and have played in a myriad of cities around the world.

Sha Na Na, who will perform Sunday at the Sellersville Theater, even had the pleasure of headlining a show opened by some guy named Bruce Springsteen 40-years ago.

“It was obvious that Bruce and his band was amazing,” drummer John “Jocko” Marcellino said. “That show was back when their first album, ‘Greetings From Asbury Park’ came out. I remember after our show, we went to the Holiday Inn in Asbury Park. I remember Clarence Clemons, Bruce and I playing Memphis songs with the house band, like ‘Knock On Wood.’ It was so long ago that Bruce Springsteen wasn’t a household name.”

But music fans were familiar with Sha Na Na at that point. The group formed in 1968, while the members of the act attended Columbia University. Marcellino attended the Ivy League school courtesy of a football scholarship, hence the nickname “Jocko.”

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The band’s rise was rapid. Their eighth performance was at Woodstock, two slots before Jimi Hendrix took the stage for his incendiary version of the National Anthem.

“We were the last act to be booked at Woodstock,” Marcellino said. “And then we made the cut of the film. To be in such a massive documentary was huge for a new band.”

The group, which sported leather jackets and gold lame, opened for the Grateful Dead, The Mothers of Invention and the Kinks. In 1972, John Lennon and Yoko Ono invited Sha Na Na to perform at its One-To-One Benefit at Madison Square Garden.

“It was a tremendous experience for such a young band,” Marcellino said. “It was an incredible opportunity.”

Sha Na Na with its versions of ‘50s pop and doo wop standards, helped revive rock’s early days. During the ‘70s “Happy Days” was one of the most popular sitcoms on television and “Grease,” was a monster movie, which featured John Travolta and Olivia Newton John.

Sha Na Na appeared in the film as Johnny Casino and the Gamblers. Pianist Screamin’ Scott Simon, an original member, who is also still with the band, co-wrote ‘Sandy’ for Travolta.

“They needed a song and Scott came right up with it,” Marcellino said. “We weren’t just in a movie, we were in an incredibly popular movie.”

Sha Na Na hosted an eponymous syndicated variety show, which ran from 1977 to 1981. The band rendered songs from the greaser days and also was part of comedy skits, performed with an array of extraordinary talent, such as James Brown, Ethel Merman and Billy Crystal.

“I think we ran the gamut on the show,” Marcellino said. “You just don’t see performers today like James Brown or Ethel Merman. It was a treat to be able to do a show like that. It was a great time.”

Marcellino and his bandmates still have a good time playing such classics as “Get A Job,” and “Rock And Roll Is Here To Stay.”

“The songs we play are timeless,” Marcellino said. “I think we’ve proven that they never go out of style. People still love this music.”